Book Review: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Silence
Series: Hush, Hush #3
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: October 4th, 2011
Source: Publisher for review (Thank you!)
Format: Paperback
Synopsis: 
The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

My Thoughts:

Words can’t describe how I excited I was when I picked up my copy of Silence from the post office. I was literally squealing in delight and for the past few days, I’ve been taking this everywhere with me. I just cannot bear to part with it. I can stare at the cover all day long, and still won’t get tired of the cover art. It’s just absolutely, stunningly, gorgeous! If I ever become an author and have my book published, I’d want no other than James Porto to design my cover! Speaking of beautiful covers, I’ve recently become wary of pretty cover arts, since experience tells me that striking covers usually equate to poorly written books. For once, I have to disagree. Silence was truly amazing; the books just keep getting better and better! Beautiful cover + excellent storyline- what more can you expect?

The story starts a few months after the ending of Crescendo. Nora has been captured by Hank, the Black Hand and locked away for the entire summer. When she is finally released, after 3 months she has no recollection of what happened to her in the past 5 months of her life. Even worse, she has forgotten Patch! Nora begins to search for answers, and unravel the mystery behind her disappearance. Truthfully, I didn’t quite understand the significance of Nora forgetting Patch. Nora forgetting her kidnapper is understandable, but Patch? It’s not like they can ever stay away from each other anyway. Memory loss aside, I was highly intrigued by the whole mystery surrounding Hank and his true intentions for getting close to Nora. There was plenty of mystery and suspense that kept me turning the pages, eager to find out what will happen next. There were also a few twists that caught me off guard! I felt Silence focused more on the storyline rather than the romance between Patch and Nora, which was definitely a relief!

 I haven’t written reviews for Hush, Hush and Crescendo but I should say that Nora and Vee were both frustrating and annoying characters, especially in Crescendo. However, I was surprised at how I actually started to warm up to Nora in Silence. Sure, she was still impulsive and doing things without thinking of the consequences, but for once, she actually had a plausible reason to. I remember, in Crescendo, she was constantly getting herself into ridiculous situations to spy on Patch ( I mean, seriously? Give it a rest girl!), but in this instalment, she did everything to find out the truth behind her kidnapping and her lost memories. Her strength and determination was evident in this book and I was pleased at how her character has developed since Hush,hush.

Many of the minor characters played a larger and more important role in Silence. For instance, Marcie. I really liked the interactions between Marcie and Nora; their ‘frenemy‘ relationship was  hilarious. I guess what I really liked about the two was how they were able to cast away their past disagreements and focus on helping each other in the present, especially at the end of the book. I can’t wait to read more of Nora & Marcie’s friends/enemy relationship in the next book!

Overall, this was an engaging and plot-driven story that will leave you impatient for the release of the fourth book! Like I said, I found part of the memory loss unnecessary, but I’ve no doubt many readers will find this an interesting twist! Do yourself a favour, and buy a copy of this book; you won’t be disappointed. From what happened at the end of the book, I’ve no doubt the plotline in the fourth book will be incredible and action-packed! Definitely looking forward to it!

Rating:4.5 stars
Quotes:
“He inclined his head at my dress. "What's the occasion?"

"Homecoming," I said, twirling. "Like?"

"Last I heard, Homecoming requires a date."

"About that," i hedged. "I'm sort of...going with Scott. We both figure a high-school dance is the last place Hank will be patrolling."

Patch smiled, but it was tight. "I take that back. If Hank wants to shoot Scott, he has my blessing.”